Now That You're Here
by ToriToxicx3
Summary: Tina's perfect relationship with Mike isn't as perfect as it appears. When she's thinks that everything is wrong, a new boy comes in and changes her mind.
1. You Brought This Upon Yourself

**A Tina/OC fanfic. I really love reviews. They inspire me. Constructive criticism is always welcome. **

**xo, tori.  
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"Tina, tell me that you love me."

His voice was forceful, but that was nothing new. Mike had changed drastically over the past few months. His dad had left his mom and it caused a lot of tension within the Chang family. He would come to me for support, but when I wasn't able to fix things, he got angry. That's when it all started. He used to make me happy and feel safe. Now the only time I'm happy or safe is when he is far, far away from me.

"I love you." My voice was shaking and I fought back the urge to burst into tears. I couldn't show weakness. He fed off of my weakness. I guess he could tell I didn't mean it. Mike grabbed my arm, just like he usually did before he raised his hand to me. I felt his strong hand pierce my cheek, sending a sense of shock throughout my entire face. "Please, Mike. Please," I begged as I pressed my back up against the cold lockers, trying to escape being hit again. He grabbed me again. His grip was strong, all thanks to his years of dancing. It was times like this that I regretted the fact that Mike was a dancer. He was too strong to fight back.

His olive skin turned red; the anger in his eyes was obvious. "Tina, I have been absolutely nothing but amazing to you. I needed help and you couldn't help me. You brought this upon yourself," he said in a low growl. I brought this upon myself? This sounded like a cruel joke. Hell, my _life_ was a cruel joke anymore. I couldn't escape him. I've tried. Every time I try to end it, he threatens me. After many failed attempts at leaving, I just stopped trying.

Finally, Mike started walking away. I no longer saw the guy that I fell in love with. I saw a monster. "I need to get to class," he said as he made his way down the hall. He turned back to face me, his eyes calm, just as if nothing had ever happened. "Oh, and Tina, if you tell _anyone_ about this, you're going to be sorry."

He disappeared around the corner and I felt relief wash over me. I was safe, for now, at least. I let out a long cry that was somewhere between pain and terror. I slid to the ground and sat there, resting against the cream colored locker. How could nobody see how terrible he was? I mean, he had just assaulted me in the middle of the hallway during school! I contemplated telling someone able what had happened. Suddenly, Mike's words came into my mind. _If you tell anyone about this, you're going to be sorry. _I knew he wasn't over exaggerating. I knew what he could do, and it wasn't pretty. I had marks all over my body proving that he wasn't fronting.

I touched my cheek. It was burning from where his hand had been. I knew just by the warmth of it that it was bright red instead of my usual olive tone. I could tell that he didn't love me anymore and I was far from loving him. "What did I do to deserve this? Why me?_" _ I asked myself out loud. _I needed help and you couldn't help me. You brought this upon yourself_. Mike's words haunted me like a ghost and I knew they wouldn't fade until his next attack.

"You haven't done anything," I heard a soft male voice call from down the hall. My eyes were blurry from all the tears and the voice didn't sound familiar. Had someone really seen what Mike did to me? What if he told? Mike would really hurt me if someone found out. The footsteps grew closer and the guy sat down next to me. "Here," he said, his voice gentle and kind. He handed me a tissue that he held in his hand.

"Thank you," I mustered softly, my voice broken. I wiped my eyes with the white tissue and looked at him. He still didn't look familiar to me. "Who are you?" I asked, not wanting to sound rude, but I wanted to know. After all, he was the only person who had seen the way Mike acted toward me and I wanted to make sure he wasn't going to tell anyone.

"I'm Penn Roth. I just moved here from Pittsburgh."

"I'm Tina Cohen-Chang."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tina."

I pushed my jet black hair out of my face, revealing the hand mark that he printed on my cheek. Penn turned his attention to the large red mark. "He did that to you?" he asked, his voice surprised. I touched my cheek softly and noticed the sting that came over it when I touched it. Even the slightest pressure caused it to burn.

"Yeah, but it's nothing new." I pulled up my sleeves and exposed an uncountable number of blackish-blue bruises on my arm like a sleeve. Most were from when Mike would grab me. I don't know why I was showing him this. He was the first person that I showed them to. Nobody knew. I always thought that somehow this was my fault and I felt guilty. Maybe Mike was right. Maybe I should have done more to help him with his family. Maybe I did bring this upon myself. Without giving it a second thought, I felt my eyes starting to burn before a few tears fell, landing on my jeans. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I was scared for my life.

I let my head fall back against a locker that was behind me. Mike had finally cracked me. He pushed me over the edge. I don't know if he felt like he needed to or he just wanted to, but Penn put his arm around me, trying to consol me. "It's going to be okay," he whispered softly. Hearing his reassuring words made me feel safe for the first time in months. What was I thinking? I just met this guy five minutes ago. But he made me feel safe and I liked it.

Penn made his way to his feet and looked at me. His blue eyes were hooked on mine. I got a jittery feeling in the pit of my stomach. He extended his hand out toward me, his pink lips turning up into a smile. I slowly rolled down the sleeves on my cardigan and took his hand, standing up. "Why are you being so nice me to?" I asked him, shaking my head. He didn't know me, yet he was acting like he cared more about me than my own boyfriend was.

"I don't know… I could never let a pretty girl go though that alone," he said. I saw his face burst into a soft pink blush behind his tan skin. He's was absolutely adorable with his ocean blue eyes and chocolate brown hair. Wait, I couldn't think that. I had a boyfriend. A boyfriend was a boyfriend, no matter how bad he treated me. What if Mike found out that I was having a conversation with another guy? He wouldn't like that. He would get mad, and I avoided making him mad at all costs.

"I… I need to go," I stammered, realizing that my hand was still placed in his. I pulled away quickly and took a few steps back. I started walking down the hall quickly, wanted desperately to turn back to look at him. But if I looked back, I knew I wouldn't be able to leave. Penn was like a magnet. I had to pull away from him, and it took all of the strength I had left to do it.

"Wait, Tina, where are you going?" he called after me.

"I have no idea," I whispered, knowing he couldn't hear me.

I walked through the door of the school and started down the street, walking aimlessly with no direction.


	2. Magnetic Pull

**AN: I uploaded this earlier, but to the wrong story. MAJOR fail on my part. I apologize dearly.**

**xo, tori.**

I came to school the next day, hoping to avoid Mike—and Penn—for as long as possible. I didn't want Mike to know I was socializing with other guys, and I knew that if I saw Penn, I would have to stay with him. There was something about him. I couldn't describe it, but he made me feel better. Penn made me feel like Mike wasn't going to be able to hurt me anymore. It felt like he could protect me.

"Hey, Tina." I froze at the sound of an all too familiar voice. I turned around and saw Mike looking down at me, a loving smile on his face. He looked as if nothing was ever wrong between us. I never knew how great of an actor he was until things started to go downhill. He had a perfect exterior but, inside, he was a mess.

I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath, gathering all the strength I could. "Hello, Michael," I said bitterly. I only called him 'Michael' when I couldn't stand to be near him. He put his arm around me and looked at me, a look on his face that said, 'what did I do'? I pulled away quickly and continued walking down the hall.

Mike ran after me. Why the _hell_ does he always have to run after me? He doesn't give a damn about how I feel, so why must he chase me? "Babe, what's wrong?" he asked me, the fake concern in his voice was evident. His brown eyes looked down at me, searching for answers.

"Don't you dare 'babe' me!" eI yelled at him. The softness in his eyes faded to pure fury. Great, I _really _did it this time. Now I knew what was coming later. A few hits, maybe a punch or two.

"What did I say about yelling in public?" he growled in a low whisper.

"Mike, why do you do this to me?" My voice didn't sound like I was asking him a question, but begging him to not hurt me anymore. I learned months ago that begging him didn't work, but I figured I'd try one last time.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "I don't do anything to you. I'm fucking perfect." He squeezed my wrist tightly, knowing that it was going to leave a large bruise. Finally, he let me go.

I'm not sure why, but I felt the need to cry. That's all I ever did, _cry_. I ran away from Mike. I ran away as fast as I could. I found myself speeding toward the choir room. I opened the door and stood in the middle of the dark room. After only a moment or two, I felt two arms wrap around me. I expected them to throw me across the empty, quiet music room. I expected them to be Mike. But the arms didn't throw me. Instead, the held me in a soft embrace.

I turned around and saw two deep blue eyes looking at me. A hand wiped away tears that I didn't even know I had cried. Penn. I know I shouldn't have, but I threw my arms around him, in desperate need of some stability. He ran his hand threw my hair jet black and landed on my upper back. "You'll be okay, Tina," he whispered to me, rubbing my back in a small circular motion. I rested my head in the crook of his neck and we stood there for a while.

"How did you know where to find me?" I asked finally, my words running together. My voice was slightly broken from crying.

"I saw what happened… I followed you here." His voice was understanding, sympathetic, and gentle all simultaneously.

I was scared and thankful at the same time. I was afraid that Mike would see us, but I just needed comforted. Penn was great at helping me forget about all my issues with Mike.

I wrapped my arms around him a little tighter, loving the positive energy he gave off. I had only met this guy yesterday, and I knew for a fact that he cared about me more than my own boyfriend, who I've been with for almost two years.

"You know," I started, my voice soft and gently. "I'm happy you followed me. I'm happy you know my situation." I pulled back slightly, resting my brown, almond-shaped hues on his eyes of ocean blue. "You make me feel so much better than Mike does."

Penn flashed a bright smile. Damn, he was gorgeous. Mike _never _smiled at me like that. Was I crazy for possible liking him? I knew it was dangerous. Mike would find out and hurt me. But at that moment, I honestly didn't care. "Well what can I say? I'm drawn to you," he said with a laugh. He looked down at the ground, his tan cheeks turning a light shade of red.

I smiled softly and let my fingertips graze his cheeks softly. "Like a magnet?" I questioned, a small laugh escaping my pink lips. That was how I described him when we first met, a magnetic pull.

Penn nodded gently, his chocolate brown hair lying on his forehead. "Well, yeah, you can describe it like that," he said, pulling me a little closer to him. His arms tightened around my waist. My heart was beating hard and I knew he could probably hear it. _Was this really happening? _It was happening, and it was perfect.

I stood on my toes, pulling myself closer to him. He leaned down slightly and, within a moment, I felt his lips on mine. I felt butterflies floating in my stomach. I saw fireworks. It all happened when he kissed me. This had to mean something, something big. People like this didn't just come out of nowhere. No, Penn came into my life for a purpose. Maybe that purpose was to save me from Mike.


End file.
